The front page of The Salt Lake Tribune on Sept. 3, 1991, highlighting the collapse of the Soviet Union.
So much of what is happening in our country reminds me of the old Soviet Union. For instance, our allies now do what we want them to do through coercion rather than friendship. It is economic rather than military, but it is coercion all the same.
There is also the issue of science and data. In the Soviet Union, science had to follow the party line. Plant genetics was dismissed, which made a devastating famine worse and left the Soviet Union hopelessly behind when DNA was discovered. Thousands of scientists were imprisoned or dismissed for not going along with “official” doctrine.
So now in the U.S., Robert Kennedy has dismissed the Center for Disease Control’s Panel on Immunization Practices, replacing them with people lacking expertise in vaccines. And President Trump has fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because its job numbers weren’t what he wanted.
I’ve never heard anyone speak of the old Soviet Union as something to be aspired to. Yes, we’re a long way from being there, but even going in that direction is frightening.
Steve Glaser, Holladay